Payment link

Abstract

In one embodiment, an intended recipient of money transmits a payment link created by the recipient to an intended sender of money, where the link contains a locator to a site of a payment provider, information about the recipient (e.g., phone number), and the amount of money to be sent. The link can be sent via email, text, IM, or other means. The sender then accesses the link, such as by clicking or tapping on the link, which launches a checkout or payment page for the sender on the payment provider site. The sender completes the payment page, and the payment is sent to the recipient by the payment provider.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer system comprising:
 a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and 
 one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:
 detecting a selection of an active Uniform Resource Locator (URL) link from a computing device, the active URL link comprising a recipient identifier that includes: an email address of a recipient or a username of the recipient at a social media site, wherein the recipient identifier is embedded in a body of the active URL link; 
 responsive to the detecting of the selection of the active URL link, automatically processing a content of the selected active URL link to retrieve the recipient identifier; 
 identifying or creating a recipient account based on the retrieved recipient identifier; 
 obtaining sender information from the computing device in response to the selection of the active URL link; 
 identifying or creating a sender account based on the obtained sender information; and 
 responsive to receiving a confirmation from the sender account, transferring an amount of funds from the sender account to the recipient account. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the active URL link is generated via a device of the recipient. 
     
     
       3. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein a payment provider identifier is embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       4. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of funds is determined based on a monetary value present in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       5. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the body of the active URL link comprises a currency symbol. 
     
     
       6. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the identifying or creating the sender account comprises creating a temporary sender account in response to a determination that the obtained sender information is unassociated with an active sender account. 
     
     
       7. The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the sender information obtained from the computing device includes an IP address, a cookie, or a phone number associated with the computing device. 
     
     
       8. A machine-implemented method, comprising:
 detecting, by a server machine, a selection of an active Uniform Resource Locator (URL) link from a computing device, the active URL link comprising a recipient identifier that includes: an email address of a recipient or a username of the recipient at a social media site, wherein the recipient identifier is embedded in a body of the active URL link; 
 responsive to the detecting of the selection of the active URL link, analyzing the selected active URL link; 
 automatically identifying, by the server machine, the recipient identifier based on the analyzing of the selected active URL link; 
 responsive to the automatic identifying of the recipient identifier, determining by the server machine, that the recipient identifier is associated with a recipient account; 
 responsive to the detecting of the selection of the active URL link, analyzing information received from the computing device in response to the selection of the active URL link; 
 automatically identifying sender information, by the server machine at least in part, based on the information received from the computing device; 
 responsive to the automatic identifying of the sender information, determining by the server machine, that the sender information is associated with a sender account; and 
 responsive to receiving a confirmation from the sender account at the server machine, transferring an amount of funds from the sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       9. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , wherein the active URL link is generated via a device of the recipient. 
     
     
       10. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 accessing the sender account, at least in part, based on the identified sender information. 
 
     
     
       11. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , wherein a payment provider identifier is embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       12. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , wherein a currency symbol is embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       13. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , wherein the sender account is a temporary sender account. 
     
     
       14. The machine-implemented method of  claim 8 , wherein the information received from the computing device includes an IP address, a cookie, or a phone number associated with the computing device. 
     
     
       15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:
 detecting a selection of an active Uniform Resource Locator (URL) link from a computing device, the active URL link comprising a recipient identifier that includes: an email address of a recipient or a username of the recipient at a social media site, wherein the recipient identifier is embedded in a body of the active URL link; 
 responsive to the detecting of the selection of the active URL link, automatically processing a content of the selected active URL link to retrieve the recipient identifier; 
 identifying or creating a recipient account based on the retrieved recipient identifier; 
 obtaining sender information from the computing device in response to the selection of the active URL link; 
 identifying or creating a sender account based on the obtained sender information; and 
 responsive to receiving a confirmation from the sender account, transferring an amount of funds from the sender account to the recipient account. 
 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the URL link is generated via a device of the recipient. 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein a payment provider identifier is embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the amount of funds is determined, at least in part, based on a monetary value embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein a currency symbol is embedded in the body of the active URL link. 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the active URL link comprises a protocol prefix followed by a colon, a locator to a payment provider server machine, and the recipient identifier. 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the sender information from the computing device includes an IP address, a cookie, or a phone number associated with the computing device.